A Multicomponent Body‐Centered Cubic Superconducting Alloy with Exceptional Mechanical Robustness at 4.2 Kelvin

ABSTRACT The ductile‐to‐brittle transition poses a persistent challenge for body‐centered cubic (BCC) structure superconducting alloys at liquid helium temperature (4.2 K), where intrinsic brittleness frequently leads to premature material failure and severely restricts their application in extreme environments. Here we present a BCC multicomponent V‐Nb‐Ti‐Mo superconducting alloy that achieves a high fracture elongation of ∼16% while maintaining pronounced strain‐hardening capacity of ∼620 MPa at 4.2 K. This exceptional ultra‐cryogenic ductility surpasses that of nearly all reported superconducting materials, and even BCC structured alloys. The rarely reported nanoscale orthorhombic martensitic transformation and the local chemical fluctuations with V‐enriched nanoclusters considerably promote the strain‐hardening capacity. Unlike traditional BCC alloys dominated by screw dislocations, a high density of non‐screw dislocations also formed to facilitate elongation. Plenty of kink bands, which are generally difficult to form at 4.2 K, delay the fracture process. This study not only offers a viable solution to the long‐standing cryogenic brittleness problem of BCC structure alloys, but also introduces a superconducting material with superior mechanical reliability for extreme‐condition applications.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-10-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.79321
Primary Topic
Superconducting Materials and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

A Multicomponent Body‐Centered Cubic Superconducting Alloy with Exceptional Mechanical Robustness at 4.2 Kelvin

Yiping Lu, Jingyi Xiao, Tao Yang, Hengcheng Zhang et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Superconducting Materials and Applications
article

A Multicomponent Body‐Centered Cubic Superconducting Alloy with Exceptional Mechanical Robustness at 4.2 Kelvin

Yiping Lu, Jingyi Xiao, Tao Yang, Hengcheng Zhang, Kai Zhao, Jixun Zhang, Zitang Zhang
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The ductile‐to‐brittle transition poses a persistent challenge for body‐centered cubic (BCC) structure superconducting alloys at liquid helium temperature (4.2 K), where intrinsic brittleness frequently leads to premature material failure and severely restricts their application in extreme environments. Here we present a BCC multicomponent V‐Nb‐Ti‐Mo superconducting alloy that achieves a high fracture elongation of ∼16% while maintaining pronounced strain‐hardening capacity of ∼620 MPa at 4.2 K. This exceptional ultra‐cryogenic ductility surpasses that of nearly all reported superconducting materials, and even BCC structured alloys. The rarely reported nanoscale orthorhombic martensitic transformation and the local chemical fluctuations with V‐enriched nanoclusters considerably promote the strain‐hardening capacity. Unlike traditional BCC alloys dominated by screw dislocations, a high density of non‐screw dislocations also formed to facilitate elongation. Plenty of kink bands, which are generally difficult to form at 4.2 K, delay the fracture process. This study not only offers a viable solution to the long‐standing cryogenic brittleness problem of BCC structure alloys, but also introduces a superconducting material with superior mechanical reliability for extreme‐condition applications.

Advanced Functional Materials
City University of Hong Kong (HK), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Dalian University of Technology (CN), Dalian University (CN), Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
Superconducting Materials and Applications
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Laika access coming soon
A Multicomponent Body‐Centered Cubic Superconducting Alloy with Exceptional Mechanical Robustness at 4.2 Kelvin — Yiping Lu, Jingyi Xiao, et al. · Advanced Functional Materials (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS